The scarcity of the gold and silver iPhone 5S at stores and online Friday has spawned the usual cottage industry on eBay, where the devices are fetching as much as $1,500 in auctions.

The gold version is particularly lucrative. A 32-gigabyte version snatched up today at retail will net the seller $750, based on the full retail price of the handsets. Silver models were going for less – around $1,200 in some cases – but still well above retail.

The first day of availability of an iPhone often spawns unusual customer behavior, like sleeping on the sidewalk and even flying from Sweden to San Francisco to buy the devices. Apple often sells out of the most popular colors, only to replace the inventory in the coming days or weeks.

On Apple’s website, shipment of the gold iPhone 5S already was listed as being delayed until October, while the silver and gray versions were delayed seven to 10 business days.

The online auction is an annual rite of iPhone launches, and eBay stands to profit. The e-commerce company takes a cut of each sale, as well as possible listing fees and fees for anyone using PayPal.